ATHENS' COOPER PUNCHES TICKET TO STATES; SAXON FINISHES 7TH

By: Tim Birney | AthensWildcats.com | October 1, 2022

 
 ATHENS' COOPER PUNCHES TICKET TO STATES; SAXON FINISHES 7TH
 

WILLIAMSPORT — Athens junior Evan Cooper entered Day 2 of the District 4, Class AAA golf championships in good position to punch his ticket to the PIAA Championships.

With the top two place-fishers qualifying for States, Cooper was in second place after an opening round of 82 on Thursday — seven shots behind the leader, Sam Wetmiller of Selinsgrove, but four shots ahead of a trio of golfers, and five shots ahead of his teammate, sophomore Shane Saxon.

Cooper just needed another solid round, but he one-upped his opening-round performance with the best round of the day in the Class AAA field, firing a 7-over par 78 on the 6,156-yard, par-71 Williamsport Country Club Course to lock down his spot at States.

“I couldn't be more happy for Evan and going to States,” said Athens coach Lenny Pientka. “He certainly has put the work in the entire year.

“I checked his average for the NTL from last year to this year.  He has lowered his average by 11 strokes,” he noted. That is amazing to drop that many shots in one year.

“We talked about what he would need to shoot the second day. We figured if he could duplicate the 82 he had a good chance,” added Pientka. “He took care of business and made certain with a solid 78.”

Cooper’s two-day total of 160 was six shots behind Wetmiller, who shot a 79 Saturday for a two-day total of 154.

Saxon carded a 94 to finish seven with a two-day total of 181.

“Dylan played great the first day, but didn't shoot the score he expected,” said Pientka.

Dylan is only a sophomore with tremendous ability and has a pretty golf swing,” he added. “Im happy he got the experience at this level, it will be a huge asset for next year.”

The PIAA Championships are Oct. 17-18 at the Penn State Golf Course at State College.

 

About the Author

Tim Birney Author Bio
Tim Birney

Tim Birney is the founder / owner of River Road Media Group. He was born and raised in the Valley, graduating from Waverly High School in 1984.

Birney earned an Associate's Degree in Journalism from SUNY Morrisville in 1986 and a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism / Public Relations from Utica College of Syracuse University in 1988. He began his newspaper career at The Daily Review in Towanda in 1989, before moving on to The Evening Times in 1995. He spent more than 10 years at the Times, the last four as Managing Editor.

River Road Media Group includes five sites in "The Sports Reports" family that cover 24 school districts in five counties: Valley Sports Report (launched Aug. 10, 2009), Tioga County (NY) Sports Report (Aug. 13, 2018), and Northern Tier Sports Report (Aug. 31, 2020); Northern Tier West Sports Report (March 15, 2021) Southern Tier Sports Report (Aug. 16, 2021).